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Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë. The only novel she wrote, it was published in December 1847 and was met with negative feedback, due to its inappropriate and controversial content, as well as challenging against strict Victorian classes and ideals at the time. Brontë died just a year after publication but Wuthering Heights would be regarded as one of the greatest classic novels, and is even a fine example of Gothic literature. Wuthering Heights tells the tale of inseparable soulmates Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how betrayal, revenge and brutality led them down a dark path. Plot Summary In 1801, a man named Mr. Lockwood stays as an tenant at a stately house Thrushcross Grange in the Yorkshire moors. He meets his landlord; a dark, brooding man named Mr. Heathcliff, who lives in the nearby house Wuthering Heights. While visiting his landlord's house, Lockwood gets snowed in and is forced to spend the night at the Heights. He stays inside a mysterious room where a ghostly woman tries to break through the bedroom window. Upon returning to Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood becomes ill and is confined to bed. While he is cared by the housekeeper Nelly Dean, she tells him the story of Heathcliff and the family of Wuthering Heights. 30 years earlier, Mr. Earnshaw was the owner of the Heights in the mid 1770s, and he lived there with his wife Mrs. Earnshaw and two young children, Hindley and Catherine. Nelly grew up with the Earnshaw's and would become their most faithful servant. One day, Mr. Earnshaw goes to Liverpool on a trip and brings home an orphaned, homeless boy he found on the streets. He names the child Heathcliff and adopts him into the family. Catherine and Heathcliff become close with each other while Hindley is jealous of the boy. Both Heathcliff and Catherine grew into romantic soulmates. Mr. Earnshaw dies 3 years after Heathcliff is taken into the family. Hindley becomes the new owner of the Heights, and lives there with his new wife Frances. He begins to treat Heathcliff cruelly and makes him a servant. Heathcliff and Catherine often enjoyed exploring the moors together, but one night he returns to the Heights and not Catherine. He explains that he and Catherine sneaked over to Thrushcross Grange and spied on the Linton family's children Edgar and Isabella who lived there. They were spotted and they tried to flee, but Catherine is bitten by the Linton's guard dog and is taken into the house by the Linton's. 5 weeks later, Catherine returns and behaves more lady-like, even criticizing Heathcliff's dirty appearance. When the Linton's came over to the Heights, Heathcliff tries to dress up properly in order to impress Catherine, but he ends up trying to fight Edgar and Hindley humiliates him by locking him up in the attic. After he is released from his room by Nelly, Heathcliff vows to take revenge on Hindley. The following summer, Frances dies of consumption after giving birth to a son named Hareton. Hindley becomes an alcoholic, and Catherine begins spending more time with Edgar than with Heathcliff, and she and Edgar begin to fall in love. She accepts his marriage proposal, but confesses to Nelly that she cannot marry Heathcliff because she would degrade herself, due to his low social status and being illiterate. But she says that she still loves Heathcliff so much that they are essentially the same person with connected spirits. Heathcliff heard this conversation of Catherine not wanting to marry him and flees from the Heights. 3 years later, Catherine and Edgar got married and moved to the Grange. Heathcliff returns as a wealthy, polished gentleman soon afterwards and Catherine is delighted to see him again; except Edgar. Heathcliff stays over at the Heights, where he gambles with Hindley and offers him large sums of money, and begins to teach his son Hareton bad habits. In addition, Hindley begins to waste his money away and goes deeply into debt. Meanwhile, Isabella has fallen in love with Heathcliff, but he doesn't love her back. But he would pretend to return his feelings to her as an act of revenge. Catherine argues with Heathcliff about this, and when Edgar hears about it, he forbids her from seeing him again. Catherine locks herself up and her health begins to fail. She is also pregnant. Heathcliff and Isabella elope, but he treats her cruelly. When he finds out Catherine is dying, Nelly helps him go over to the Grange to see her, where they have an emotional reunion and Heathcliff having a hard time forgiving her. Later that night, Catherine dies after giving birth to a daughter named Cathy Linton. Heathcliff becomes insane and demands Catherine's spirit to forever haunt him. His wife Isabella flees and seeks refuge in London, where she has a son named Linton Heathcliff. Hindley dies 6 months after Catherine, and Heathcliff becomes the new owner of Wuthering Heights. 13 years later, Cathy grows into a beautiful, lively girl. After hearing that Isabella is dying, Edgar goes to London to retrieve her son Linton and bring him back to the Grange. While he is gone, Cathy sneaks out of the house and explores the moors. She comes across the Heights and meets her cousin Hareton, who is now living at the Heights as a servant. Linton is brought back to the moors, but Heathcliff wants to keep him in his custody. After he brings him to the Heights, Heathcliff becomes more abusive and cruel to the boy just like he was to his mother. 3 years later, Cathy and Nelly encounter Heathcliff on the moors and brings them back to the Heights for Cathy to meet his son Linton. Cathy and Linton begin a secret relationship until Nelly finds out, and Heathcliff hopes the two of them would marry. He forces Linton to court Cathy and marry her so he can claim inheritance on the Grange. Edgar's health worsens the following year and is dying. Nelly and Cathy were out on the moors when Heathcliff tricks them into coming over to the Heights, where he holds them hostage and won't release them until Cathy has married Linton. Nelly is released after 5 days and Linton helps Cathy escape so she can go see her father until he dies. Heathcliff is now the owner of both houses and he has Cathy come to live at the Heights as a servant. Linton dies after marrying her, but she and Hareton begin to bond with each other. After Nelly's story catches up to the present, Lockwood ends his tenancy and leaves Yorkshire. 6 months later, Lockwood returns and continues his tenancy again, where he learns of the latest updates when he was away. Nelly is now living at the Heights after one of the servants left and she took her place. Hareton and Cathy had fallen in love with each other, while Heathcliff begins acting strangely. He stops eating, wanders the moors alone, and has thoughts of Catherine. Nelly soon finds Heathcliff dead in his room, and is buried in the same cemetery as Catherine and Edgar. Cathy and Hareton plan to marry on New Year's Day and live at the Grange together. As Lockwood makes his way home, he stops to view the graves of Catherine, Edgar and Heathcliff and ponders the peaceful quietness of the Yorkshire moors. Characters Heathcliff- The main protagonist/anti-hero. Discovered on the Liverpool streets as an orphaned, homeless child by Mr. Earnshaw, he is taken into Wuthering Heights and treated as a member of the family. He falls deeply in love with his foster sister Catherine but is abused and bullied by his foster brother Hindley, and when he is betrayed and left out, he immediately decides to plan revenge on everyone who had dared wronged him over the years, even if it involves inflicting abuse and hatred on them. Catherine Earnshaw- The daughter of the Earnshaw's. She was raised at Wuthering Heights and becomes close to her adoptive brother Heathcliff and developed into inseparable, romantic soulmates. She is also quick-tempered, rebellious and haughty, and after she lets down Heathcliff by marrying another man, she is forced to choose who she loves the most. Edgar Linton- A well-bred, handsome aristocratic man who lived at Thrushcross Grange. He is in love with Catherine and eventually marries her, but he hates Heathcliff because he sees him as a threat to his family. He is also a coward and is unable to fully protect his family home from Heathcliff's act of revenge. Nelly Dean- A housekeeper and longtime servant to the Earnshaw family, as well as a mother-figure to Hareton and Cathy. She narrates most of Heathcliff's story to a tenant named Lockwood, and is one of the main narrators. She is a kind, sympathetic woman to everyone she had served, even to the two tragic main characters Heathcliff and Catherine. Mr. Lockwood- A gentleman from London who stays as a tenant at the Grange. He becomes curious and fascinated by Heathcliff's dark demeanor and the haunting setting of the Heights. He is the chief narrator of the novel and documents it all in his diary. He learns the story of Heathcliff from Nelly and copied it down. Catherine "Cathy" Linton- The daughter of Edgar Linton and Catherine Earnshaw. She is a beautiful, free-spirited girl who shares the same personality traits as her mother: arrogant, fiery and mischievous, but is also more passionate and gentle. She is curious of what life is like outside of her home the Grange, but soon finds herself a prisoner and servant to Heathcliff. She was forced to marry Linton Heathcliff but falls in love with her cousin Hareton. Hareton Earnshaw- The son of Hindley Earnshaw and a loyal servant to Heathcliff. As a child, Hareton was uneducated and instead to inflict mean and cruel behavior on others by Heathcliff. In the years that follow, Hareton became a stable boy and a servant to his master. But despite his gruff, unkempt appearance, he is a good-hearted, sensitive man with very little contact with the outside world. He soon finds solace in himself when he begins to fall in love with his cousin Cathy. Linton Heathcliff- The son of Heathcliff and Isabella Linton. He is a sickly and whiny young man who constant demands are very irritable to those around him. He once lived a happy and safe life in London with his mother, but after she dies, he is sent back to live with his father. He is forced by Heathcliff to marry Cathy and have his father claim Thrushcross Grange's inheritance. His health worsens and he dies shortly after marrying. Hindley Earnshaw- The brother of Catherine Earnshaw and a mortal enemy to Heathcliff. After his foster brother is taken into the family home for the first time, Hindley is immediately jealous of him and when he grows older and becomes the new owner of the Heights, he abuses and bullies Heathcliff and making his life miserable. In addition though, Hindley ended up drinking heavily and going heavily into debt as Heathcliff takes his revenge on his longtime opposer. Isabella Linton- The sister of Edgar Linton and wife of Heathcliff. She is a beautiful, witty woman who was raised alongside her brother in an aristocratic, noble lifestyle. She falls in love with Heathcliff, but was warned by her sister-in-law that he is a bad influence. But Isabella ended up ruining her own life by marrying him and being treated cruelly and abusively by Heathcliff's and his servants. Her relationship with him resulted in the conception and birth of a son, Linton. Mr. Earnshaw- The patriarch of the Earnshaw family and the original owner of Wuthering Heights. He discovers young Heathcliff alone and orphaned and decides to adopt him as his own son. He treats the boy with love and affection, and lets Heathcliff and Catherine be close together until he passes away. Mrs. Earnshaw- Mr. Earnshaw's wife. She is disapproved and not impressed when her husband brought home an orphaned boy and doesn't show any love or affection to him. She dies less than 2 years later. Frances Earnshaw- Hindley's silly, simpering wife who he had met and married when at college. She dies of consumption soon after the birth of their son Hareton. Joseph- A longtime, elderly servant at Wuthering Heights. He is known to speak with a thick, Yorkshire accent. Mr. and Mrs. Linton- The parents of Edgar and Isabella. They treat Catherine like a proper woman and introduced her to their lavish, rich lifestyle. Zillah- A servant at Wuthering Heights. Writing History/Reception Bronte may have started working on Wuthering Heights around 1846-47 at her parsonage home in Haworth, Yorkshire, England. Following the publication of her and her sisters' poetry collection and wasn't well received, Bronte and the sisters decide to write their own novel and have it published under male pseudonyms, with Bronte using Ellis Bell. The publisher Thomas Cautley Newbey accepted Bronte's work, but it wasn't published until a few months after her sister Charlotte's novel Jane Eyre, which became a best-seller. When Wuthering Heights was published, it was met with negative and criticized feedback. Many critics panned it for its violence, passionate and brutal characters, and amoral story, and wasn't even considered to be the most proper novel for any Victorian lady to read. The critics also condemned the pen name "Ellis Bell" (and even Bronte herself), for being cruel, barbaric, savage and insane to write such a thing. Readers themselves were shocked when they first read it, as the content it has was never featured before in any particular novel that they had ever read before. Here is what certain critics at the time of the novel's release said about it: "We rise from the perusal of Wuthering Heights as if we had come fresh from a pest-house. Read Jane Eyre ''is our advice, but burn ''Wuthering Heights." Paterson's Magazine USA, February 1848 "How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors." Graham's Lady Magazine USA, July 1848 "This is a strange book. It is not without evidences of considerable power: but, as a whole, it is wild, confused, disjointed, and improbable and the people who make up the drama, which is tragic enough in its consequences, are savages ruder than those who lived before the days of Homer." Examiner, January 8th, 1848 After Bronte's death the following year after publication, Charlotte edited the original manuscript of her sister's controversial novel and added a preface, revealing the true identity of the novel's pen author Ellis Bell, as well as a biographical article to as a way to defend her sister and her family name from being condemned by criticism, and the preface was written and published in the 1850 edition. Bronte had passed away, knowing that her only novel would be a failure and would be a disgrace to society, but over 150 years after the publication, Wuthering Heights would be regarded as one of the best novels in English literature. Even so, her novel has even invented such unique Gothic words as "Wuthering" and "Heathcliff". Themes Symbols Foreshadowing * Lockwood's visit to Wuthering Heights and its rude, unwelcoming residents. Foreshadows the mystery of the lives and resentments of the people who live there. * Lockwood's encounter with Catherine Earnshaw's ghost in his nightmare. Foreshadows the upcoming insanity of Heathcliff in his final days * Lockwood discovers Catherine names written over her room. Foreshadows the tragic, harsh backstory of the Catherines of the Heights (eg. Earnshaw and Linton) * Heathcliff demands Catherine's spirit haunt him and drive him mad. Foreshadows his restlessness and insanity after the events of his storyline External Links * Wuthering Heightson SparkNotes * Wuthering Heightson LitCharts * Wuthering Heightson Course Hero * Wuthering Heights on CliffNotes * Wuthering Heights on GradeSaver * The Reader's Guide to Wuthering Heights Category:19th-century novels Category:British Literature Category:Gothic literature Category:Novels written by a woman Category:Novels set in the 18th-century Category:Novels set in the 19th-century Category:Novels Category:Controversial novels